


Band of Gold

by spookyawards_archivist



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Episode: s05e15 Travelers, Pre-X-Files, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-12-19
Updated: 2004-12-19
Packaged: 2019-04-27 13:43:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14426634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookyawards_archivist/pseuds/spookyawards_archivist
Summary: Explaining the ring, the smokes, and other things





	Band of Gold

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Spooky Awards](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Spooky_Awards), and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [SpookyAwards' collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/spookyawards/profile).

Title: Band of Gold  
Author: Polly Rating: PG  
Category: 310 Words, Missing Scene, Pre-XF, Mytharc Spoilers: "Travelers"  
Disclaimer: "The X-Files" and its characters belong to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, and FOX. No copyright infringement is intended  
Archive: If you want it, it's yours  
Feedback: Always welcome and appreciated Summary: Explaining the ring, the smokes, and other things 

* * *

He stared into the bathroom mirror, finger-combing the bangs out of his eyes. He made a mental note to visit the barbershop soon; better get the hair cut voluntarily before Reggie made it mandatory. 

He picked up the cigarette smoldering on the sink's edge, took one last drag, and flicked it into the toilet. He was close to quitting, only lighting up now when he got nervous. Today certainly qualified. 

He was two steps out of the bathroom before he remembered to turn back and retrieve the item left on the toilet tank. He slipped the gold wedding band on the third finger of his left hand, still a peculiar sensation. 

He'd gone in search of a ring after a senior Agent in Behavioral Sciences advised him that victims and suspects confided in serious, mature men, not babyfaced, smart-ass kids. He doubted that was true, but decided creating the facade of a stable family man couldn't hurt. When he read the inscription in this gold band he'd found in a pawnshop on M Street, he knew it was fate: "To my beloved F.M." 

He wasn't sure the ring had enhanced his professional credibility, but it had succeeded in sending a clear message to the barracudas in the secretarial pool. He wasn't ready for romantic entanglements, least of all with anyone at the Bureau; he wasn't anxious to become anyone's "beloved F.M." just yet. 

He headed for the door, hoping the ring would work its magic today. He needed former FBI Special Agent Arthur Dales to confide in him about a case involving Edward Skur and William Mulder. What connection could his father have to a suspected murderer? He had to know, and Dales was his only link to a 38-year-old unsolved case, an "X" file. 

Why was it called an "X" file anyway? Maybe Dales would tell him that too. 

**THE END**

* * *

  
  


#### If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Polly


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